# SEO-tool usage-cost worksheet

Prepared October 15, 2026. This is an editable manual worksheet, not a live price feed, invoice, account integration or automatic calculator. Replace assumptions with dated evidence. Keep documents, seats, prompts and tracked pages as separate units.

Guide: https://www.rankcrab.com/compare/surfer-seo-pricing

## 1. Save the offer and required workflow

- Tool / plan / owner: [values]
- Required features and evidence that this plan includes them: [values / unknown]
- Needed seats, integrations and permissions: [values / unknown]
- Source or private quote reference: [URL / reference]
- Observed at: [YYYY-MM-DD; time; timezone]
- Currency: [ISO currency code]
- Billing cadence: [monthly / annual / other]
- Monthly charge OR annual charge paid upfront: [amount; do not substitute an annual monthly equivalent for the cash commitment]
- Discount conditions and later renewal price: [values / unknown]
- Trial, cancellation and refund conditions: [reference / unknown]
- Number of paid billing periods in the scenario: [count]
- Required extra charges, quantities and billing cadence: [itemized values / not needed / unknown]
- Applicable tax or currency conversion: [quote / excluded from estimate / unknown]
- Metered action and unit: [definition / needs verification]
- Included allowance and period: [value; monthly / annual / other]
- Rollover, expiry and fair-use rules: [source / unknown]
- Before/after usage observations from an authorized evaluation: [references / not tested]

An unknown essential cost is not zero. Mark the estimate incomplete until the required quote is available. Do not assume deleting a draft restores capacity or that every revision consumes a new unit.

## 2. Map the workload to billing periods

Use actual billing-month boundaries, not necessarily calendar months. Count units consumed by useful outputs and by research, abandoned work or other actions separately. A completed article is an output, not automatically the vendor's billable unit.

| Billing period | Completed outputs | Units used for those outputs | Other units consumed | Total units | Allowance for this period | Fits? / unknowns |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | | | | | | |
| 2 | | | | | | |
| 3 | | | | | | |
| 4 | | | | | | |
| 5 | | | | | | |
| 6 | | | | | | |
| 7 | | | | | | |
| 8 | | | | | | |
| 9 | | | | | | |
| 10 | | | | | | |
| 11 | | | | | | |
| 12 | | | | | | |

For monthly plans, compare each month's usage with that month's allowance. A total below twelve times the monthly limit does not prove a busy month fits. For annual pools, compare the year's units with the annual allowance and check any separate daily or feature limits.

## 3. Calculate the budget transparently

- Total units = units used for completed outputs + other consumed units.
- Monthly base commitment = monthly charge × paid billing periods.
- Annual base commitment = full annual charge × years purchased, even if work ends early.
- If only an annual monthly equivalent is advertised: calculated annual base = equivalent × 12; verify the checkout amount separately.
- Estimated total = base commitment + itemized required extras + included taxes/fees.
- Cost per consumed unit = estimated total ÷ consumed units.
- Cost per completed output = estimated total ÷ completed outputs.
- Utilization = consumed units ÷ included units in the same allowance period × 100%.
- Remaining allowance = included units − consumed units; a negative result means the assumed plan does not cover the workload.

A zero denominator makes a per-unit/output metric undefined, not zero. Do not present unused allowance as a refund. Explicitly state whether labor, tax and optional products are excluded. A changed plan or prorated upgrade requires a separate quote.

## 4. Worked example — hypothetical, not a customer result

Observed public input: Surfer Discovery's USD annual-billing display was $49 per month equivalent with 120 documents for the year on October 15, 2026. Source: https://surferseo.com/pricing/ . The annual base below is calculated, not a purchased invoice.

Assumptions: 48 completed articles and 24 additional drafts consume one document unit each. Discovery covers all required features. There are no required paid extras in this example. Tax, writing/editing labor and other costs are excluded, not verified as zero.

| Calculation | Arithmetic | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Annual base | 49 × 12 | USD 588 |
| Units consumed | 48 + 24 | 72 |
| Utilization | 72 ÷ 120 | 60% |
| Remaining allowance | 120 − 72 | 48 |
| Base cost per consumed unit | 588 ÷ 72 | USD 8.17, rounded |
| Base cost per completed article | 588 ÷ 48 | USD 12.25 |

The USD 12.25 figure allocates a subscription cost; it is not Surfer's per-article price. No traffic, ranking, time-saving or return-on-investment result was measured. With only 24 completed articles, the same base becomes USD 24.50 per article; with none, the metric is undefined.

## 5. Decision and follow-up

- Coverage decision: [fits required features and usage / does not fit / incomplete]
- Base commitment and estimated total: [separate values]
- Completed-output denominator and evidence: [assumed / observed; count]
- Excluded costs and unresolved quote items: [list]
- Alternative workload or billing scenario: [values]
- Evidence needed before purchase: [list]
- Responsible owner and next review date: [name; YYYY-MM-DD]
- Observed benefit, if tested: [method, baseline and result / not measured]

Source notes checked October 15, 2026:
- Prices: https://surferseo.com/pricing/
- Billing: https://docs.surferseo.com/en/articles/7913068-which-plan-to-choose
- Annual allocation and exceptions: https://docs.surferseo.com/en/articles/6758676-annual-plans-limits-allocation
- Fair use: https://docs.surferseo.com/en/articles/12944161-fair-usage-policy
- Usage evidence: https://docs.surferseo.com/en/articles/8612798-understanding-your-current-usage-page

Recheck prices and metering monthly or on vendor changes, and before a purchasing decision. The next editorial review is due November 15, 2026. Keep the worked example dated; update the guide and this example together when its source inputs change. Do not replace a checked date without a substantive verification.